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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29472243">Spite</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_of_Winterhell/pseuds/Lady_of_Winterhell'>Lady_of_Winterhell</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Mentalist</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bedsharing, Episode 4x08: Pink Tops, F/M, Lisbon Worries, TM Discord Challenge, Talks about Red John</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 21:40:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,488</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29472243</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_of_Winterhell/pseuds/Lady_of_Winterhell</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jane and Lisbon have some car trouble on the way out to a crime scene. Banter and conversation about Jane's pursuit of Red John ensue. Set in season 5, post 5x17. Pre-Jisbon. Rating for language. No sexual situations.</p><p>Part of our Mentalist Discord Challenge: take a prompt and something from a random episode, make it into a story. </p><p>Episode: Pink Tops (4x08) <br/>Prompt: Bedsharing</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Patrick Jane &amp; Teresa Lisbon, Patrick Jane/Teresa Lisbon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Spite</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>For the last few days, the team had been working a case out of McKinleyville. Well, Cho, Van Pelt, and Rigsby were working a case out of McKinleyville. She stayed behind to run point from the office—but mostly to keep an eye on Jane.</p><p>Since Red John killed Lorelei, he started closing himself off from her again. No matter the trust they’d built between them over the years, he was once again at it alone. After hanging up the phone with Cho, she made her way to Jane’s attic.</p><p>Exhaling deeply, she pounded her fist on the door. “Jane, we have to go out to McKinleyville to regroup with the team. Cho is requesting assistance.”</p><p>After some shuffling, he slid the door open slightly and poked his head out. “Really? Is this necessary right now? I’m working on something important.”</p><p>She rolled her eyes. “Something important? Well, so are we! Two teenagers are dead, and we need to find who did it. We have a job to do that’s not just….” </p><p>She trailed off. Just because Jane was being paranoid didn’t mean there weren’t prying ears and eyes about. God, he was rubbing off on her!</p><p>She stilled herself, rubbing her hands down the front of her jeans, before meeting his eyes. “I’d like to leave in the next hour if possible. It’s a little over a five hour drive out there. Will you please come out with me and help us close this case? Cho believes they're close to an arrest, but they’re missing something.”</p><p>She held his gaze for a moment. His silence indicated he was mulling over the idea of leaving his enclosure. “Ok, let me get wrapped up here. Meet you in your office in an hour?”</p><p>She nodded. “Yeah.”</p><p>Just a little over an hour later (because they needed fuel and snacks for the long trip), they were on the road. Jane spent most of the first few hours looking out of the passenger window, clearly lost in thought. Selfishly, she wished she could have her partner back, the one who made snarky little comments here and there to get a rise out of her. </p><p>Over ten years with Jane, and they had been through a lot together. Several years ago, he finally started to open up and share a little more even if he wasn’t great at it. Over the years, their friendship developed and they became a type of solace for each other. She laughed sardonically when she realized this is the longest relationship she had ever had. She hated losing that and trying to contend with this morose Jane.</p><p>Suddenly, a loud crashing sound made her jump as her car tried to spin out of control. She worked hard to maintain her calm, getting them over to the side of the road. She took a deep breath before looking at Jane who was sitting wide eyed with his hands braced on his knees. “Are you ok?”</p><p>“I’m fine. What was that?”</p><p>They both took off their seat belts and got out of the car. Looking down, she noticed that the back tire was not only flat but it looked like the wheel was bent. There was also some minor damage to the undercarriage. She groaned as she closed her eyes.</p><p>“I must have run over something. I’ll have to call for a tow.”</p><p>“Well, we could change the tire.”</p><p>“The wheel is bent. I don’t think a spare will even help.” She made the call to get a tow.</p><p>xxxxxxxxxxxxx</p><p>“Little lady, it looks like you hit a piece of sheet metal out on the road there. You tore up the body quite a bit. You ladies ought to pay more attention to the road.”</p><p>Two hours waiting for that goddamn tow truck in the summer heat, and she was already beyond annoyed. She had no patience for the driver’s obvious assessment and accusations that she was a negligent driver. She looked over at Jane and saw the look in his eye that he usually gave right before pouncing. She shook her head in warning. Truthfully, it used to only make her more angry when he intervened on her behalf. She could handle herself and didn't need his help—except she realized that some men would only take that lesson from other men. In that vein, he’d done her a favor with Hannigan, too. This was just not one of those moments. They needed to get their transportation situated and get the hell out of here.</p><p>“Sir, can you just get us towed to the nearest auto body shop and point us to a rental car location?”</p><p>He chuckled as he lifted his red ball cap up, wiping sweat off his forehead with his hand before wiping it on his shirt. She grimaced at the sight and the pungent odor that followed. “You won’t be doing that tonight. It’s already after 6. By the time I get you back to town, it will be closer to 8. You won’t be able to see to having this fixed or getting a rental til tomorrow morning. No, the best you can do is get dinner and a good night’s rest.”</p><p>She smiled politely. “Ok, let me make a call really quick.”</p><p>She pulled out her phone to call Cho. One of them would be getting their asses down here to pick them up. She couldn’t stand the thought of sitting in that truck with him for the next hour or so. Maybe she could get him to drop them at the next gas station or rest stop.</p><p>“Cho.”</p><p>“Boss.”</p><p>“Jane and I had a little car trouble. I need one of you to come down and pick us up.”</p><p>“Where are you?” Honestly, she had no clue, so she gave him the mile marker on I-5. “We are still about 3.5 hours out, I think. They won’t be able to do anything with my car or get me a rental until tomorrow morning at the earliest. We need a ride.”</p><p>There was a long silence. “We only brought one car up here. Rigsby and Van Pelt are out in the field, and I don’t know when they will be back. Is there a place you can stay nearby?”</p><p>She closed her eyes and started using her breathing techniques to calm down. “I assume there’s a hotel in town. I was really hoping we would make it up tonight to hit the ground running. I guess we'll just see you tomorrow.”</p><p>“Yeah. Sorry about that.”</p><p>She hung up and looked at Jane who was just nodding his head. “Let’s go, I guess. We can get what we need from the car when we get to town.” She was now thinking about the logistical nightmare of getting her entire gun case out of the car as well.</p><p>As she leaned in to get her snacks and phone charger, Jane appeared on the other side to gather a few items. “I’ll sit in the middle.”</p><p>As they got in the truck, the driver eyed them suspiciously as Jane got up in the middle and she sat closest to the door with her head facing out of the cracked window. She didn’t make a lot of eye contact with him as Jane positioned himself between them, but he looked somewhat disappointed and she was suddenly glad Jane volunteered to sit there if not for the stench, his uncomfortable gaze that indicated he had intended to let his hand slip a few times on the ride. </p><p>Like he said, it was around 8 when they got to town. He dropped them at the hotel, which was thankfully close to the local diner. </p><p>She walked up to the desk with her overnight bag in hand. “We need two rooms for tonight please.”</p><p>The young attendant gawked at her for a second before responding. “Well, we only have one. Would that work?”</p><p>She felt Reese Lisbon trying to come out, but she did her best to push that back down. “I suppose if that’s all you have. I’m assuming it’s a double?”</p><p>The young redhead shook her head. “No, ma’am. It’s a single queen.”</p><p>She closed her eyes before looking back at Jane, who just shrugged. “Really? There’s nothing else?”</p><p>“No, we had a pipe burst last night and several rooms had quite a bit of water damage.”</p><p>“Ok, we will take it.” Great. Now, even her plan of stripping down, taking a bath, and spending the evening cooling off from the summer heat wasn’t even viable anymore. </p><p>The room was tiny with the bed, a dresser, and a single table and chair. She sat her bag down and sat on the side of the bed. How the hell could traveling be so hard?</p><p>“Lisbon, you’re overheated and miserable right now. It’s making you sulk. Dinner might make you feel a little better.”</p><p>She just nodded as he motioned to the door. She followed him as they made their way to the diner. </p><p>“What’s good?” </p><p>The waitress giggled. She was practically tripping over herself to talk to Jane. “I’m supposed to tell you all of it, but between me and you, I’d go with the cheddar burger and fries.”</p><p>He handed her the menu and smiled. “Sounds good to me! Oh! And what kind of pie do you have tonight?”</p><p>“Pecan and strawberry.” </p><p>He turned his smile to her. “We will have a slice of strawberry with two scoops of ice cream as well.”</p><p>The woman turned to leave, completely ignoring she was even sitting there waiting to order. “Aht! Miss, I believe my sweetheart here wants to order a cheddar burger and fries as well. No ketchup for her.” </p><p>She grinned a little when he called her his sweetheart. It didn’t actually mean anything, so she didn’t know why it always made her grin like a schoolgirl. Maybe it was because others weren’t in on the ruse they had perfected and it felt slightly naughty when one of them did it to show they had no interest in flirting. When she did it, he always teased her endlessly about how dire things must be if she were chaining herself to him. </p><p>“Oh. Right. Ok.” The blonde’s face fell. She just handed the woman her menu. </p><p>“I can order for myself...but thank you.”</p><p>“You’re in a mood, and she just wanted to flirt with me, which only deepened your sour mood.”</p><p>She started to protest, but he just waved his hand and leaned in. “It was rude of her to ignore you, and it’s not been a good day. I’ve never seen you as tense as you were in the tow truck. Texas Chainsaw Massacre?” </p><p>She shuddered a bit at the mention of that movie and her memories from earlier today. Her friend, Tessa, made her watch that movie in high school—and this was damn close to being that exact type of nightmare scenario even if this were real life in which she was a highly trained CBI agent. She nodded at him, realizing she was glad that he hadn’t rebuffed her attempt to get him out of the office for more than one reason now.</p><p>“Yeah, that movie scared the hell out of me too. He was definitely a creep.”</p><p>There was a brief pause as they held each other’s eyes for a moment. “Thanks for sitting in between us.”</p><p>He blinked rapidly. He expected her to say something else. “You’re welcome. I’m just sorry it was necessary.”</p><p>Their food was out soon, and they both started to chow down as soon as it was before them. She was conscious of the fact he ordered the pie—her favorite—for them.</p><p>“So is there anything new on the case?”</p><p>“Cho didn’t say much on the phone. I think he needs you to do your human lie detector thing.” In fact, she hadn’t even bothered to ask. She was glad when he called because she had an actual reason to get Jane out of his attic.</p><p>Jane nodded. “I can do that.”</p><p>After they finished their dinner and shared their pie with ice cream, they headed back to their shared room for the evening. At this point, sharing a room with Jane wasn’t that big of a deal so she wasn’t even upset about it. She was just ready to bathe and go to sleep.</p><p>“I’m going to grab a bath.” He nodded at her words as she made her way to the bathroom. She couldn’t wait to wash the filth of today off of her!</p><p>She stayed in the tub until her water had gone slightly cold. After she dried off, she got into her Bears sleeping shirt. For a moment, she was slightly self-conscious about her bare legs—but she remembered it was just Jane. </p><p>When she got out of the bathroom, she saw that he had removed his jacket, vest, and shoes and was now trying to get comfortable in that wooden chair.</p><p>“What are you doing?”</p><p>“Just getting comfortable. You can take the bed.”</p><p>She scoffed. “I can take the bed?”</p><p>“Yeah. You paid for the room.”</p><p>“Jane, go shower, change into your sleeping clothes, and get in bed.” He started to protest, and this time, it was her turn to cut him off. “You’re not sleeping in that wooden chair when there’s an entire queen size bed here. I’m not planning for any funny business. Are you? No, so don’t make this weird. Go get ready for bed so we can turn out the light and try to get some sleep.”</p><p>He stared at her for a moment before following her instructions. She was serious. It’s not like anything would happen, and she trusted him. If Cho or Rigsby were here instead of him, she would probably do the same. Well, maybe she would have kept her regular clothes on.</p><p>He emerged from the bathroom wearing pajama bottoms and shirtless. She didn’t care as long as he was comfortable. As she saw him cross the room to slide into the other side of the bed, for some reason, she thought about her bare legs again and whether she should have slept in her jeans.</p><p>There was a tense silence for a moment as they both lay facing up towards the ceiling. For the life of her, she couldn’t tell why he was being so weird about this. Had she overstepped by making him get in bed? Suddenly, he spoke. “Not that it matters because I don’t really sleep, but thank you. I would’ve hated sitting in that chair all night.”</p><p>She chuckled. “So what was your plan? Sit in that uncomfortable chair and watch me not sleep all night out of guilt that you were uncomfortable?”</p><p>“Just running through Red John things. Trying to see what I’m missing. I would never mean for you to feel guilty because of how my brain works.”</p><p>She turned to face him. “Jane, you have to sleep some time. This 24/7 obsession with the case isn’t good. Rest and coming back with fresh eyes will do even you some good.”</p><p>“I have to find him. I know I’m close.”</p><p>“Ok. And then what? You just fly out of your attic like it’s the Bat Cave and go confront him yourself?” His silence told her everything she needed to know. “No, absolutely not! You’re not confronting him yourself. We have an entire team, and we’re going to do things the right way.”</p><p>“When I find him, he’s mine!”</p><p>“He’s yours? And what does that mean? You become a killer too?”</p><p>“You know what? Yes. I will administer justice. I know you think that makes me a killer because of the law. But what does the law know about justice? Charlotte--she is supposed to be getting her license this summer and thinking about college and relationships and in full rebellion, but he slit a five year old’s throat. And after he butchered Angela, he painted her fucking toe nails in her own blood just for an extra kick. Tell me: what is the law going to do about that? What justice will it provide?”</p><p>She swallowed thickly. “What he took from you--it isn’t fair. No one deserved that, but not even justice can bring them back or take away the immeasurable pain and guilt that you feel because that’s what this is about. It’s not about them; it’s about you. My job is to follow the law and make sure others are following it, too. Do you remember the case with the murder of the undercover cop who was killed by another cop?”</p><p>“Yoli Herrera? Yeah.”</p><p>“Do you remember what her killer—that disgraceful cop—said to me? She said: ‘why beat them when you can just join them?’ Honestly, it was the most fucked up reasoning for multiple homicides I’ve ever heard in my life, especially watching as two kids have to grow up without their mother because someone took the easy way. Jane, I want to beat them not join them.”</p><p>“This is Red John not some cocaine dealer. He’s different.”</p><p>“His crimes are different. The concept is the same. You talk about justice, but how do you get justice from joining him in his game? It’s what he wants. You have to know you’re his entertainment at this point. How far can he push until he breaks you. He kills you or you kill him. You become a killer, and then, I have to arrest you. You go to prison for life, not him. Or you go on the run and have no real life ever again. What kind of closure is losing your life and your freedom? Would your family want you to just join him?” He turned to face her as her voice became a bit shaky. “If we do this right, we beat him. There’s your justice. There’s your peace.”</p><p>“So I can’t get justice because you’re afraid of losing me?”</p><p>“No! I’m saying you can't get vengeance!” She realized a little too late that she hadn’t corrected him—nor did she really want to. He never accepted there were people depending on him. She depended on him.</p><p>“How many people have to die before we can just end him? You’re talking like he’s not capable of getting away with what he wants. What if he comes after you or your team? Do you think that would make me happy? Do you think I would be happy going to your funeral? If keeping people I care about safe means I become a killer, I’m happy to do it.”</p><p>“We are all able to take care of ourselves…”</p><p>“I know that! But his reach…”</p><p>“And if we work together as a team and do this right, we can catch him. Five minds are better than one, even if the one in question is yours. I’m asking you to consider how we can beat him together. If you go at this alone like you have been, you’ll give him what he wants: to destroy you. Don’t worry about us. We know what we signed up for.”</p><p>There was a brief pause. “All I can do is worry about you.”</p><p>“Just promise me that you will keep an open mind. Let me in. Let me help.”</p><p>“Don’t you ever hate me for ruining your life?”</p><p>“Ruining my life?”</p><p>“A promising career until you were saddled with Red John, and then, me. Now, you’re barely hanging in there. You know what people say about you, mostly because you have to get me out of hot water when I try to correct them.”</p><p>She laughed. “You trying to correct people? More like hitting every one of their insecurities before they try to hit you.”</p><p>“You didn’t answer the question.”</p><p>“No. You didn’t ruin my life. This is the life I chose. I’m invested in catching Red John. He may not have murdered my family, but he hurt people I care about. Besides, you keep things interesting.”</p><p>“Not hard to make things interesting around the CBI.” She chuckled a bit. Once again, they made eye contact. “Haffner gave you an out. Why didn’t you take it?”</p><p>“Not all that glitters is gold.”</p><p>“Meaning?”</p><p>“Did he offer me a nice sum of money that I would be a fool to not consider for a moment? Sure. Did I know what strings came with that money? No. And learning more, I’m glad I said no. I wouldn’t want to hang out at Visualize all the time.”</p><p>“Meh. Man like that has ego issues. Being able to flash some money and have you depend on him would boost his confidence a lot, especially when he asked you to marry him on your third date. Though, I guess California is a community property state, so you could get a nice divorce settlement out of him in a few years if you tried really hard to hang in there and not let him bore you to death.” </p><p>“Third date?!” She couldn’t help but notice the grin he wore now. Haffner and Jane were like oil and water. Of course he got a kick out of this situation.</p><p>“Yeah, he is totally smitten with you but terrible at seduction if he thought a job offer--and a likely religious conversion--was the way to Teresa Lisbon’s heart. But he probably thought it in your best interests to be away from me. If he could...well, who would waste a second to reel you in?”</p><p>She laughed. “And you seriously had to ask why I didn’t accept his offer? He’s not a bad guy, but I don’t want to be in that kind of situation. I know I might not be at the top of anyone’s list for anything ever again--except maybe if they start awarding the agent with the most complaints or annoying consultant or something. It doesn’t matter. I like my team and the work we do.”</p><p>In the little bit of moonlight that filtered in through the curtains, she could see a look of relief on his face. “I’m glad you stayed, even though I do close quite a few cases.”</p><p>“WE close a lot of cases! You know I don’t keep you around just because you solve cases, right?”</p><p>“I know, but I also know what I have to do.” He was somber again.</p><p>“You don’t have to do it alone. Not this way. I doubt it’s what they would want.”</p><p>“They would want to know that even though I failed them in life, I cared enough to track him and make sure he paid for their suffering.”</p><p>“No. Not at the price you’re willing to pay. They wouldn’t want you destroyed.”</p><p>“It’s what I deserve.”</p><p>“It’s not, but I know that’s what you tell yourself. It’s why you’re already putting the distance between us. You’re preparing for whatever break you’re going to have to make. Maybe if he does kill you, I won’t be as sad if you’ve been holed away for months. I’m telling you that you don’t deserve that you don’t need to play his game. We can do this together and not at the expense of your soul or your freedom.”</p><p>Another moment of silence followed. “I know you believe that. I’m not like you, Teresa. You survive because you’re strong, not in the tired ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ sense. You’re a natural born survivor. You’ve done it your entire life, and it’s made you come to see the world in a way that I cannot. I am a hustler. Life is about the hustle, and maybe catching him is the only way I’ve known how to survive the last ten years.”</p><p>“Patrick Jane, the man who hustled his way on to my team, is definitely a survivor. He might have been the coping mechanism to get you off the bench, but the justice you seek isn’t in ending his life and even your own. It means having a life in spite of the psychological warfare he wants to impose on you. You say I’m strong, but I’m not. I’m just spiteful as hell. I survive in spite of the circumstances.”</p><p>What she did next shocked her as she reached for his hand. He didn’t swat her hand away or turn away from her. No further words were spoken that night as she felt her eyelids grow heavy. When she woke the next morning, their hands were still tightly clasped. Only, he’d also brought his other arm around her. He was holding her nuzzled into his chest as it rose and fell in a calm, steady rhythm. She had no idea what time it was as a strip of sunlight peered in through the curtains. She was ready to get up and get back on the road, but she thought perhaps letting him sleep a bit longer wouldn’t be a bad idea either. That she was even considering lying here a second longer in such an intimate position made a blush creep up her chest. But he had confessed he had not been sleeping, so just a few more minutes wouldn’t hurt. He could use the rest.</p><p>“I can hear you thinking.”</p><p>“Yeah, thinking about whether to kick your ass now or later!” </p><p>He grinned at her. “I don’t see you making an attempt to get away from the poor, defenseless,  sleeping man.” Well, he didn’t make an attempt to move either.</p><p>She snickered. “Did you sleep well?” </p><p>His eyes flickered open. “I guess...I slept through the night.”</p><p>“Good. I think we should get up now. You know, so we can get back on the road.”</p><p>Some expression flashed across his face momentarily. It was gone almost as quickly as she noticed it, so she didn’t know what that was. He released her. “Probably a good idea.”</p><p>“Mind if I take the bathroom first?”</p><p>“Not at all. After all, it takes you ladies a little extra time to get ready. Wouldn’t want any more accidents.” She shoved him back a bit. He was clearly mimicking the tow truck driver from yesterday. More importantly, he was acting like her Jane again.</p><p>xxxxxxxxxx</p><p>Later—after he killed Red John and prompted their two year separation, after he violated airport security laws to tell her that he loved her, after they were married and expecting their first child together—as he held her in his arms by the recently restored fireplace in their new cottage, he told her that he’d come close to telling her he loved her that morning during their waylaid trip to McKinleyville. Even if he still killed Red John in the end, she convinced him that his best revenge was yet to come: living in spite of Red John. She made their family possible. Indeed, he wished they had stayed in that bed a little longer.</p>
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